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I think everybody is over-optomistic about footage left on the cutting-room floor with the Potter movies. I fear what we have now is all there is.

Yes, I think that may well be the case. My point is that they could have anticipated longer versions for the home theater market by filming essentailly two versions of each book. So, not cutting-room-floor stuff so much, rather extended versions. So much stuff was lost from the films in the service of runtime. Some of the films, notably Goblet and Half-Blood Prince, felt very rushed and choppy as a result. The film version of DH will end up being over 4 1/2 hours and all of it, I'd wager, put t good use.

Certainty and conviction are a sure sign you don't know what you're talking about! The world is not black and white, rather shades of grey!

So last night I finally performed an audio home test on the Chamber of Secrets Ultimate Edition. Switching back and forth on the inital PCM release and comparing to the new DTS-HDMA, it was no comparison even after volume matching. For whatever reason, the DTS MA was much fuller in comparison to the PCM. The quiddich match was ridiculously better.

So last night I finally performed an audio home test on the Chamber of Secrets Ultimate Edition. Switching back and forth on the inital PCM release and comparing to the new DTS-HDMA, it was no comparison even after volume matching. For whatever reason, the DTS MA was much fuller in comparison to the PCM. The quiddich match was ridiculously better.

Seeing as the DTS-MA is encoded from that same PCM it's obvious they weren't truly volume matched.

Seeing as the DTS-MA is encoded from that same PCM it's obvious they weren't truly volume matched.

I wish your snotty comment was correct but alas, you should research before posting. As I researched after posting, I found that Warner not only remixed the audio (not re-encoded) but increased the sampling rate on the DTS-MA as compared to the original PCM release. Either one would yield a more pleasing outcome...and I'm glad you opinions don't match the policies of your company as I rather like THX.

I wish your snotty comment was correct but alas, you should research before posting. As I researched after posting, I found that Warner not only remixed the audio (not re-encoded) but increased the sampling rate on the DTS-MA as compared to the original PCM release. Either one would yield a more pleasing outcome...and I'm glad you opinions don't match the policies of your company as I rather like THX.

Snotty?
Somewhat immature response...

It's the same mix: both are from the 5.1 EX master and the differences between 16 and 24-bit are negligable, one isn't going to sound dramatically "fuller". The differences you cite are purely level based.

It's also unclear as of yet how said moratorium will affect the (unannounced but obviously in-the-works) Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2 Ultimate Editions, which should hit shelves next year.
(And who knows whether or not they'll include the 3D versions? "Ultimate" doesn't mean what it used to.)

Ultimate Double-Play Editions for the UK (not imported US versions) have appeared on Amazon.co.uk. They appear to contain both Blu-ray and DVD of the films. Not sure what else is in them. Release date is November 21.

Ultimate Double-Play Editions for the UK (not imported US versions) have appeared on Amazon.co.uk. They appear to contain both Blu-ray and DVD of the films. Not sure what else is in them. Release date is November 21.

Surprising there is so little information available this close to release.

Australia has had 2-disc Bluray Collectors Editions for movies 1-6 available for some time, including a Bluray disc of the Theatrical movie plus what seems to be the special features Bluray disc from the Ultimate Editions. It was very difficult determining whether the movie was the Theatrical or Extended as it was not explicitly spelled out in the merchandising.

Warner seems to be going all-out with multiple dips of this franchise and making it confusing. I realised they had lost the plot when they changed the Ultimate Editions range after the first 2 movies, destroying the consistency and value.

The UK has never had Ultimate Editions released before, so maybe these will be the USA Ultimate Editions with the inclusion of the movie on DVD.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvdmike007

Wonder if they will finally be the extended cuts

Only movies 1 & 2 are extended in the Ultimate Editions, but it would be worth having those in a cheaper edition. I can't see Warner releasing extended versions of movies 3-6 without disenfranchising those customers who have already bought the Ultimate Editions.

Are there any PQ improvements with these Ultimate versions vs the theatrical versions?

According to High-Def Digest, PQ is similar to the latest releases.

I think I read somewhere that the first Bluray release PQ was improved upon a little, but then we have had a few iterations since then.

Considering Theatrical and Extended versions are usually generated via seamless branching, they couldn't have better PQ for the extended bits without also improving the Theatrical elements or else the differences would be noticable. So, I guess you could say the Theatrical and Extended versions in the Ultimate Editions are equivalent. The Ultimate versions may have better PQ than the original Theatrical Bluray releases.

Nope. The Deathly Hallows movies come in a single ultimate edition box called Year 7. At the moment, they are exclusive at Target.
Yesterday, I received mine as a present... It doesn't seem to be an extended edition but I will watch them over the weekend to double check...

As I understand it, only movies 1 & 2 were extended versions: all the others either had no deleted scenes or any deleted scenes were included as standalone extras and not integrated back into the movie.

Is the HP Wizard's Boxed Set the same as the "ultimate editions" sold individually? I haven't bought any HP blurays. Heard good things about the "ultimate editions". Wondered if I should buy the "wizards box set" or buy the movies individually. For best mastering quality and extras.

I have the Ultimate Editions of the first two movies (the other movies don't have extended versions available at all, which is why I only went for the UE on the first two films). These two UEs have 3 discs: the BD with theatrical and extended versions, a Creating the World BD, and the same DVD bonus disc that was included with the previous 2-disc DVD release. The Ultimate Editions do NOT contain the DVD version of the film. There's also a 25-page Creating the World booklet with pictures from the films, and two character cards. The 4th disc only contains the digital copy of the film.

I don't have the 31-disc Wizard's collection, but looking at the description and pics on Amazon and Blu-ray.com, it appears you get the 2 BDs (theatrical and extended films, and Creating the World), the DVD (theatrical only), and bonus DVD second disc. I'm not sure if the Creating the World booklet is included, nor the character cards.

The Wizard's comes with Ultraviolet version of the films, and an exclusive 31st bonus BD. Pics might help with the comparison:

The first 7 films are available on UE @ Amazon (I believe there are 8 films in total?). I'm sure they'll put out a "UE boxset"....probably after every one has bought the UE versions individually. Glad I haven't bought the films on bluray yet.. I'll wait and see if they put out a UE Boxset. Hope it's more cost effective than buying all UE versions separately.

Any set that doesn't include the 3D versions of the movies available (last two films in their entirety, as well as portions of Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince) are probably going to be superseded in the future. I wouldn't be surprised if they release an uber-set with 3D editions in combination with the extended editions as that combo would yield significantly higher sales appealing to 3D lovers and Potter film fans.

It can only be a calculated move that the extended versions of movies 3 through 8 aren't included in the ultimate editions and also that that the last Ultimate set doesn't include 3D copies.